<p>I know this is really late and that I probably won't get any more financial aid because of that, but I don't want to give up college without knowing for sure. </p>
<p>Last week, my mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer after having a huge cyst and the infected ovary removed and tested. She'll be out of work this entire month, and all of it is unpaid. She's a single mother and her paycheck was our only source of income, so she's not even sure how she can pay for the regular bills, let alone the college bill. The original plan was to use the payment plan to cover the rest of my tuition, but without a paycheck this month, the first two payments (due now and September 1st) would be impossible. So the payment plan is out of the question. My mom applied for a Parent Plus loan and was denied, so I got another $4,000 unsubsidized loan, but it still leaves a gap we can't cover. </p>
<p>So we moved onto private loans. I applied for some on my own, and (not surprisingly) was denied for every single one. We reapplied for some with my mom as a cosigner, and they were all still denied. I had family members I haven't even seen since I was 6 trying to cosign for me, and every application was denied. The last one we tried was my grandmother. I fully expected it to be approved. We checked her credit score before applying. She has a FICO score of 723. It was still denied. She has the best credit of anyone I know, so private loans are also no longer an option.</p>
<p>My bill is due Thursday, so I know it's a long shot, but the only option I have left is to ask for more financial aid. I'm just at a loss about how to go about it. I don't know what to say or how to phrase it. Can anyone help me out?</p>
<p>I suggest you defer for year, stay home and help your mom, work and save some money. </p>
<p>Meanwhile you should apply for other schools that might be more affordable to you in a situation your mom might not able to help you next year. Even without private loans, with an increase of $4K in federal loans, you are taking way too much debt.</p>
<p>@4kidsdad I didn’t even know about that, but I think her insurance is covering all the medical bills. It’s the month of no work that is the problem.</p>
<p>@lerkin My college doesn’t allow freshmen to defer as far as I know, but I already figured I may have to stay home this year and apply to other colleges. I already started my new application and have been looking for local full time jobs.</p>
<p>How important is college here? It’s really only one small piece of life, and when it comes to family needs, a setback like your mother’s condition might mean a change in plans. I do agree with Lerkin in this regard. </p>
<p>If you really want to procede, check your grandmother’s credit report and see if she has any unpaid bills showing up on it. If not, she will qualify as a guarantor for PLUS. You can call the financial aid office of the college to help you through this. But also, if you tell your college financial aid office what is transpiring, they may use their professional judgement to make you eligible for other funds. But unless your school has deep pockets, it comes down to what federal and state entitlements and drop in EFC would bring. More Pell would be nice, but do you really think you and your family should be taking more loans even if they are offered? How much more do you need?</p>
<p>But do think about what you would be doing here. That’s a pretty hefty loan you are putting on your mother’s head. At 7% interest, increasing by the day the instant the funds are disbursed. And sticking Grandma with it as well. Are you in some program that pretty much guarantees well paid jobs? If you are going to school right now, just because of the momentum, it’s a poor reason to do so.</p>
<p>@cptofthehouse I’m well aware that I’ll most likely have to wait on college, but it’s not because I just want to go and for no other reason that I’m asking. If I was able to go to college, then that’s one less mouth to feed this month, which would help. Even if I go to college this month, I have plans to get a job right away. Some of the girls at my school work two jobs on top of their course load, so it wouldn’t be impossible for me to work a full time job with college, and I would be sending the money back home. I know either way - going to college or not - won’t have a big effect on our current financial situation, which is why I’m not sure what to do.</p>
<p>I’ll probably just stay home in the end, or see if my college could let me defer even though it’s not normal for freshmen there.</p>
<p>OP, You should really ask for “professional judgment”. Let them decide if a loss of a month income is “job loss” or not. If they want you to be there, they would do something.</p>
<p>I gave you some ideas in case that is what the direction you want to pursue. So, it’s not like I dismissed your question. Yes, the school might decrease your EFC and make you eligible for some other funds, like PELL and maybe any state money. THey can advise you on that and if there is anything available that the school itself has. Unless you are going to a school with deep pockets, however, what’s left are entitlement funds like PELL and again, maybe state money. at least most of the time. Again, your grandmother as guarantor on the PLUS might work. For PLUS you don’t need a job or income, just no outstanding payments due on the credit report over a certain number of days, and no foreclosures, bankruptcies. Those other loans will look at income, job and things other than just the credit score. But that’s a load you are putting on your mom and grandmom. If you are going for some accounting, computer science, medical tech, nursing type degree, paying it back for them might be a decent bet, but really for someone right out of high school, that 's too much debt IMO to take. You might want to save that kind of thing for when you have a year or so left on such programs, not when you are just embarking on your college plans. It’s risky, and more students and famlies get saddled with debt they cannot repay and it causes a lot of problems. But I did lay out those alternatives to you.</p>
<p>You have to eat where ever you go. You can eat a bit more cheaply at home and help your mother with meals too. So one less mouth the feed, doesn’t cut it. I’m not suggesting you sit at home like a nestling with your mouth wide open. I am thinking along the lines that you contribute during this difficult time and put your education on hold. Maybe work and make money while not cranking up those 7% interest rates on those loans. How much are you thinkiing of borrowing for the school anyways? If you have to borrow to go away, whatever you earn has to be balanced against that. No way likely you are going to be able to make what you borrow, or you would not have to borrow at all.</p>
<p>College is not the be all ot end all, and it can certainly wait for things like this that happen in life.</p>
<p>I already have the Pell grant. I have maximum federal funds. My EFC is somewhere around $600 I think, although when I first filled out the FAFSA, it said it was $0. I wouldn’t ask anyone else to pay for college for me because it’s my education. The plan with the Parent Plus loan was to defer until I graduated and I would pay it. I know it would accrue a lot of interest, but I’m not going to make someone else pay unless it was with monthly payments, which for my mother to afford in the first place, would have to be pretty cheap. </p>
<p>I guess the more I talk about it and think about it, it doesn’t make much sense to go to college this month. I’ll just apply to some colleges that meet 100% of need and retake the SAT and take a couple college courses at the local CC while working full time this year to strengthen my application. It just makes more sense when I think about it more. Thanks for the help.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Contact the college financial aid office and explain your current situation.</p></li>
<li><p>Contact the admissions office and see if you can defer your admission for the year.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>That way…you will have both bases covered.</p>
<p>Good luck to your mom…I hope all goes well for her and your family.</p>
<p>DO NOT take ANY college courses in your gap year. This will make you ineligible to apply as a freshman to any other colleges. Freshmen get the best aid in colleges.</p>
<p>You have an EFC of $600
You have loans in your financial aid package
Your mom was diagnosed for a plus loan and denied so you were given an additional $4000 unsub loan
There is still a gap in your financial aid package for which your mom was going to make a payment plan
Your mom cannot make the payment plan because she is now ill and will be out of work for at least 2 months, which will be unpaid
You are trying to get family members to co-sign for you to get a loan</p>
<p>First of all, I wish your mom a full and speedy recovery
I am glad that you have come to the realization that this school is no way a financially feasible option for your family (the $9500 that you already have is putting you on the path for too much debt).</p>
<p>If you can give us some parameters, perhaps we can assist you in coming up with some financially feasible options</p>
<p>What is your home State
SAT/ACT Scores
GPA
Rank</p>
<p>I have every confidence that we can help you put together a list of schools</p>